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Over already?

Easter came and went way too fast. We all find ourselves saying that about a lot of holidays but this time it's for real...the super early arrival of Easter this year was just absurd. How can it be within a few days of St. Patrick's Day?! I know, the phases of the moon and the equinox are factors, but jeeez, we should've all came to a consensus to ignore nature just a bit and put Easter in it's comfortable little spot in the month of April. I saw Easter candy going on clearance within a week of it's placement on store shelves. I saw St. Patrick's Day windows make the change to Easter before St. Patrick's Day even happened. It was just one big rush job. And the weather, sure it was pleasant here in Jersey, but it was cold! I want it to be at least a little Springy.

I know I'm griping a bit too much, especially when you see all this pretty Easter stuff I've got to show. I mean, I guess good-stuff-wise, I'm sorta spoiled this year. But I've had no time to enjoy it all. And please comment me if any of you experience for yourselves what I'm about to say. Over here, me and Aar get this whole Beware the Ides of March vibe. Aaron especially. Back in 2003 his car accident was on March 18th and this time of year since then has been touched with melancholy and unease. We also have some friends and family that have similar eery feelings this time of year and I suspect that there are a number of you out there who can probably share your own tales. It's just a feeling I get. So please comment if you're on the same page...or comment and tell me I'm nuts. Also feel free to tell me if you have the opposite experience at this time of year. Positive stories are always welcome!

This is my contribution to a very cool swap called The Itty Bitty Robins Egg Blue Book Swap. The name of the swap pretty much explains it all. In the end, all of our contributions will becompiled in itty bitty books, and we'll all receive one. I believe there were 32 of us in the swap so that means there will be 32 pages in each book. The only specifications were size and color. The rest was up to you. You just had to make 32 identical little pages. The pic shows the front and back. And those of you with an eye for detail will notice that the bottom edge isn't exactly nicely trimmed. I didn't notice it until after I snapped the photo. But it's ok now. I trimmed it before I sent it out. There's a Flickr group for this swap so you can go check out the other pages. I can't wait to get my itty bitty book. Stuff like that is just so heirloomy. I imagine in the future all these great group projects being sought after collectibles much like the handcrafts from the Victorian era.

Ok, since Easter is over, I can post the remaining Hippity Hop Easter swap stuff. I'd hoped to update all during the week but I just couldn't squeeze blog time into my schedule. I followed the rules and opened one each day but man oh man there were a lot of cheaters! It's so hilarious when grown ups act like overly anxious kids.

Day 5 was Heather Bluhm (our fabulous hostess). I love those little pink chicks. I don't remember exactly when I saw those little cuties for the first time but I remember falling instantly in love with 'em. Heather made excellent use of them in this adorable little diorama. I love the vintage wallpaper inside. Heather you are the BEST!

Day 6 was Karin Aguirre. How awesome of her to make earrings. Jewelry is always always a welcome gift. And these are so nice, presentation and all! Perfect for Spring!

Day 7...Donna Layton. A really amazing collage! Tons and tons of detail work. It must've been hard hard work putting together ELEVEN of these! It's not my usual color palette but I would not change a thing about it. The colors are so bright and magical. This piece has a voice! I love it. (will you just look at the robin's egg blue bead up top...gorgeous!)

Day 8 was by this girl...Jenny Heid? And I actually did make one for myself. There was a dozen of us in the group but we all mailed in eleven pieces because it would be a real waste of shipping, time, etc. to mail something that was just going to get mailed right back. I did a smaller, more vintage toned version of our Easter chick cake. It's mounted on an 8" x 10" canvas board and hangs by vintage seam binding.

Day 10...Beth Quinn. How Cool!! This photo doesn't do it justice at all. It's really like she bottled up some Spring and corked it shut. I met Beth at Silver Bella. She was in our class and she was super super sweet so the super sweetness of this was to be expected. I will be displaying this all year round...far too fabulous to take out once a year!

Day 11 was Heather Kowalski. A gorgeous dreamy wreath with vintage millinery flowers! I love the dove! I hung this up right away. Dreamy really is the perfect word for it! I adore it!

Day 12... Cerri Campbell made this tiny little teacup with bird. The miniature size of it makes it all the more sweet. The aqua blue shred is so tiny, and the egg and little millinery flowers. It's so cute! Love it!

This was an amazing swap to be a part of. The variety of styles and subjects was dizzying. You'd think that if you took a group of artists with similar tastes to take part in a swap like this, that you might get very similar designs. Well that was so NOT the case here. Everybody did their own unique thing. And each reflected that individual's personal style. This was a fab way to kick off Spring! And I guess getting to open all this stuff this early in the season almost makes up for the premature Easter.

You saw Beth Quinn's vial full of Spring up above...day 10. Well I did some shopping at her Etsy shop, Blissful Provisions...(when you finish visiting with me...stop over there and tell Beth that Jenny sent ya!). Look at all these pretty trims n' things. She puts things together so nicely and the colorsand textures are just so soothing. The aged tags, the pretty buttons.I love the tiny vintage alphabet cards. You will certainly see this stuff sneaking into some future projects of mine. And hey, look again at the photo...natural lighting for a change. The light looked good on the windowsill so I figured I'd take advantage and capture this stuff in the soft light it deserves..can you see what a difference it makes?

I think I caught the "itty bitty" bug after doing the itty bitty swap. These itty bitty boxes just called out to me and I went to work on them like a whirling dervish. I used tiny prints of our artwork as well as some of my very own family photos ( my Grandma is on one)...and some good looking strangers too! I mixed new papers and old and gave them all an aged patina. I did 6, and I'm just putting them up for sale as I do them. I might repeat some designs or I might not. I'm just doing them as they come to me. I did 6 to start and as I write this there are 3 still available. I hope to do another batch this upcoming week. I like them as boxes for a special gift of jewelry or some other tiny object. They're also cool as tiny crafting supply boxes for your desktop. And they are tiny...just 2" x 2" . I have them over on Etsy if your interested.

Also...We're having a sale over on ebay ...15% off everything in our store!! So take advantage now...maybe for that personalized piece you've been wanting...or a baby shower gift...this time of year is full of those. Also a good time to get a group of Art Squared pieces. So hurry over...there's a few days left!!

Since this is the last of the Easter stuff I should be posting I figured I'd give you some parting eye candy. It just hit me again that Easter is over...it's so strange. There was no lead up. It just sorta happened out of the blue!

Check out in the center of the one pic the Kewpie doll wand. It was a completely unexpected gift from my friend Jenelle. A totally awesome surprise! So so nice of her! I LOVE it!!

And the little girl doll head was a gift from Cerri (day 12 in the hippity hop). Thanks so much Cerri...you've got my number alright! She is too cute!

Ok, that's all for now. This was a lengthy post and you probably forgot all about paragraphs one and two where I spoke of the weird Ides of March feeling we get every year. I'm really curious to know if any of you get it too...so please comment if you can. Thanks a bunch, happy spring!

Jenny, the goodies from the hippity hop swap are TDF sweet!!! i just love everything...and your Easter vignette is darling:) i have been feeling sad too, you are not alone in that...i always miss my family when it is holiday time...and i so agree that Easter needs to be firmly placed in April...

Yah, you're nuts! :) That's some sort of strange anniversary syndrome.March is when all the blooms are getting ready to poke their heads out and say hello.The wee boxes are darling!Always love your posts.Cori

Jenny, My mom feels that way about February--if you make it through that month, you are good to go for the rest of the year. Of course that is crazy, but that is how she feels. Last week felt like a holiday bender: St. Pat's, my dd's birthday and then Easter. I've got a sugar hangover that's not going away! I'm leaving the Easter decorations up for awhile longer. So much eye candy! Love the itty bitty boxes! You could call them inchies squared. Mary

Hi Jenny! I love this time of year because the weather where I live is always wonderful and because my second son's birthday is the end of March! You sure got lots of wonderful goodies in the swap, you lucky girl! I love your artwork you sent to everyone, too! Oh, I should have been in that swap! :( All your Easter decorations are SO cute!! They make me happy! Oh, and the new little boxes you are making with photos- those are FAB!! Love them!! I may have to make some for myself and my mom with our family's old photos! Great idea!Michelle

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